"We are sure that the Supreme Court will take into consideration cases where production has begun and investments have been made while giving its verdict on the blocks," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

The move towards bringing in a transparent system of allocation is welcome and we appreciate a decision on this crucial issue, he said.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court held that all coal block allocations made since 1993 till 2010 before pre-auction era during previous NDA and UPA regimes have been done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".

The apex court, which examined the allocation of 218 blocks, said, "Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily" as "there was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth."